


Far From Home

by magic_peach



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety Disorder, Arranged Marriage, Bernadetta gets locked into an arranged marriage with Felix, Bernadetta is terrified and Felix is pretty indifferent to the idea of being married, Bernadetta never went to the officer's academy, Depression, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Physical Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rodrigue lowkey becomes like a father to Bernie, Self-Esteem Issues, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, The war is put off for just a bit but ooohh boy believe me it's coming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28224465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magic_peach/pseuds/magic_peach
Summary: Bernadetta had been betrothed to Felix Fraldarius for over a year. Count Varley (although not without fuss in the beginning) had agreed to hold off the marriage until Felix finished his studies at the officer's academy, which Lord Fraldarius had been very insistent on. Bernadetta, now 18, had let herself forget about the impending marriage until one morning when she finds herself being loaded into a carriage to be sent off to the Holy Kingdom Of Faerghus.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Bernadetta von Varley, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Marianne von Edmund, Everything is secondary to Bernadetta and Felix though and is more of a background thing, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Bernadetta von Varley, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Possibly more side relationships
Comments: 16
Kudos: 33





	Far From Home

It had been almost 5 days since Bernadetta had been uprooted and forced into this carriage. It still made her shiver thinking of that morning, having her father barge into her room was terrifying in its own right, but to then be told she had 10 minutes to pack and get downstairs and outside to the carriage was way too much pressure. She wasn’t even sure which clothes she had brought as she had frantically stuffed whatever she could into her suit. She had tried to bring one of her many carnivorous plants with her, carrying it in her arms as she obviously couldn’t stuff it into her suitcase, but of course, her father had taken it from her at the gate, scolding her and telling her it wasn’t ladylike.  
  
Bernadetta wasn’t active in any way shape or form but being stuck in the carriage with minimal breaks to stretch her legs was beginning to get unbearable, and not to mention the further they got from the south the colder it got, she wasn’t looking forward to adapting to the new climate.  
  
“Lady Varley?” A voice startled Bernadetta out of her deep thought.  
  
“Ahhh—I’m sorry! What is it? Did I do something wrong?” Bernadetta replied, startled, and hanging her head.  
  
The woman who her father had sent along as her attendant for the trip seemed a bit startled by her startled reaction.  
  
“N-no, lady, my apologies for the fright, I was just…wonder if you were feeling all right, is all?” She said, sheepishly. “You’ve been tapping your foot on the carriage floor for over 20 minutes.”  
  
“I’m sorry—I just…u-uh…I guess I’m just tired of sitting.” Bernadetta admitted.  
  
“Would you like me to ask the coachman to stop? Let you stretch your legs?”  
  
“N-no! That’s okay! No need to trouble the coachman, he’s probably sick of me asking him to stop by now.” Bernadetta said, quickly dismissing the idea despite being sick of being cooped up in the carriage. “If it weren’t for me, we’d probably already gotten there already.”  
  
Bernadetta looked out the window and spotted snow falling from the sky. Varley was a very arid environment and she had never seen snow before. Bernadetta had become accustomed to hot weather and had not been feeling particularly excited about having to live in the cold, but despite that the snow was prettier than she’d thought it would be. She wondered if the snow was a sign they were almost to their destination, with that in mind her thoughts began to wander again.  
  
It had been over a year since her father had announced to her that she was officially betrothed, and to a boy she’d never met, mind you. She knew very little about the mysterious Felix Hugo Fraldarius, except that he was son to Lord Fraldarius and heir to House Fraldarius. She also knew he had been a student at the officer’s academy, as it was part of the contract that her father had signed that there would be no moving forward with wedding preparations until Felix had finished his studies. Bernadetta was surprised that her father was able to land a marriage contract with someone of Felix’s status, especially considering that he had always scolded and berated her, telling her just how unmarriageable she was, so although she was terrified of the prospect of marriage, she was glad that her father had managed to find someone suitable even for someone as unworthy as her.  
  
“Oh, Lady Varley, look!” Her attendant said, pointing out the window. “I do believe we’re here.”  
  
Bernadetta looked out the window and saw a huge mansion that she assumed had to be Fraldarius estate. Varley estate was nothing to scoff at, but this place was on a whole other level of huge.  
  
Suddenly, Bernadetta’s stomach hurt as she officially realized she was going to have to meet her soon-to-be husband and his family, and all these people who were much more important, well-spoken, and intelligent than her. Perhaps once they figured out how pitiful and useless Bernadetta was they would shred the marriage contract and send her back where she came from, although Bernadetta wasn’t sure which was worse. She definitely had no desire to be returned to the hands of her father, but that was the only life she had ever known, and change was terrifying.  
  
The carriage abruptly stopped and Bernadetta felt unbridled dread at that moment.  
  
Her attendant bid her a farewell, and although she was petrified being in an unfamiliar place, she did not envy the poor woman who had to make the journey back to Varley only after just arriving. She gave the coachman a quiet “thank you” before stepping down onto the snow-covered ground. It was only in that moment when she realized she wasn’t properly dressed as she felt a cold gust of wind. Her sleeves were long but they were thin as she didn’t have a wardrobe befitting of the north, which made sense, but it wasn’t pleasant.  
  
There were many people working around the estate, but there was no one there to greet her at the entrance, and so she just kept walking forward, lugging her suitcase and keeping her head down in an attempt to hide her face from the bitter cold. It didn’t help much.  
  
‘God, Bernie, of course, there’s no welcome-wagon. They probably already regret signing the contract and are negotiating marriage to have it annulled. Oh no…I should have asked the coachman to wait for me…now I’m going to have to wait and what if no one gives me a place to stay and I freeze—’  
  
“Excuse me, miss, can I help you?” A voice interrupted Bernadetta’s inner monologue for the second time that day.  
  
Bernadetta jumped in response and looked up from the ground, startled. “I-I’m sorry…!” She squeaked. “I promise I’m not trespassing; I’m supposed to be here!”  
  
She met eyes with the man, who was tall, towering over her, his eyes were a greyish blue, and his hair was dark.  
  
Realization flooded his expression when Bernadetta met eyes with him. “I’m so sorry, you’re Count Varley’s girl, aren’t you?” He said, apologetically. “We were just preparing to greet you, I hadn’t realized you were already here.”  
  
“I-it’s…okay.” Bernadetta shivered.  
  
“You poor girl, you must be freezing.” The man said, removing his cloak and draping it over Bernadetta’s shoulders before she could say anything.   
  
Bernadetta tensed up when the older man’s hands came close to her but he didn’t seem to notice. When she realized he had only draped his cloak around her she was relieved but also flooded with guilt and anxiety.  
  
“N-no! I’m okay, no need to worry about me! It’s my fault for being stupid, I knew the climate was going to be a lot different here…! I should have prepared better. No need to give up your cloak for me!”  
  
The older man chuckled, seeming amused at Bernadetta’s demeanor. “Don’t be silly, you grew up in a place like Varley.” He insisted. “It’s only natural your wardrobe isn’t equipped for Faerghus.”  
  
Again, moving quickly than she could stop him, he took her suitcase from her, handing it off to a servant.  
  
“Come with me, let’s get you inside.” He said, gesturing her to follow.  
  
Bernadetta ran, struggling to keep up with the much taller man.  
  
He opened the door to the estate allowing Bernadetta to enter. She was instantly relieved as the heated air rushed over her.  
  
“How impolite of me.” The man said once they’d entered. “I’m Rodrigue Fraldarius, I’m Felix’s father, soon to be your father-in-law I suppose.”  
  
_‘THIS WAS LORD_ FRALDARIUS?’ Bernadetta thought to herself, horrified. ‘He must think I’m a horrible excuse for a lady, I addressed him so informally, oh god, he probably hates me now, oh no, this is the beginning of the end of the betrothal—”  
  
“…You’re Bernadetta, correct?” He said, breaking the awkward silence that had filled the room as Bernadetta had begun berating herself in her own head.  
  
“Y-yes, that’s correct, my lord.” Bernadetta said, shakily, attempting to maintain eye contact even though every fiber of her being was screaming.  
  
Rodrigue chuckled again. “You’re a funny one, huh?” He said, again, seeming to find Bernadetta amusing. “No need to hold up such formalities, I’m to be your father by marriage soon after all.”  
  
“O-oh…um…all right…” Bernadetta said slowly, knowing very well she wasn’t going to refer to him as anything other than lord, she didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of addressing someone of his status casually.  
  
“Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired? Who am I kidding, you must be exhausted from such a long journey.” Rodrigue said. “Would you like something to eat?”  
  
“No thank you, please, I’m all right.” Bernadetta said, softly, just wanting this interaction to be over. All she wanted to do was lay down and sleep forever.  
  
“Nonsense, it’s hours before dinner and you must be famished,” Rodrigue said. “How about I have you shown to your room and I send the cook up with something for you? I’m sure you’re dying to have a rest.”  
  
Bernadetta could see that Lord Fraldarius wasn’t someone she could argue with, and if he was insisting on feeding her then she wasn’t going to be able to convince him to do otherwise.  
  
“Y-yes.” She finally relented. “Thank you…”  
  
Although she felt uncomfortable with having so much provided for her, the sooner she was allowed to retire to her new room the better, and so she accepted instead of arguing and prolonging the conversation.  
  
“Of course,” Rodrigue said. “Ashe, show her to her room, please.”  
  
“Right away!” A boy with almost silver-like hair said before turning to Bernadetta and smiling warmly. “Follow me!”  
  
The boy that Lord Fraldarius had called Ashe looked to be about the same age as her. He was dressed nicely and carried a bow on his back.  
  
The two of them walked up the staircase, Bernadetta following behind Ashe. Although Bernadetta wanted to avoid conversing unnecessarily at all costs, of course, the silence didn’t last.  
  
“So, you’re to be Felix’s wife?” He asked, casually.  
  
“U-um…yeah, that’s what I’ve been told.” Bernadetta said.  
  
“It’s strange, Felix never mentioned being betrothed while we were at the academy together, I’ve really only heard word of you over the last couple of weeks. I honestly didn’t think Felix wouldn’t ever get married,” Ashe mused on. “Although, I suppose someone of his status perhaps doesn’t have much choice in the matter.”  
  
Ashe picked up that Bernadetta didn’t necessarily want to be having this conversation.  
  
“Oh, I’m sorry, am I boring you?” He asked, sympathetically.  
  
“W-what?! No! Of course not, do I seem bored? I’m so sorry!” Bernadetta said.  
  
‘Jeez Bernie, your future husband already sounds like he hates you and now you’re going to make the people who work for him hate you too, oh no, how is this marriage ever going to work?’ Bernadetta began to berate herself again.  
  
“Oh, um, no I suppose you don’t seem overly bored,” Ashe said, trying to place the mood. “My mistake, of course, you must be beat.”  
  
“Beat?! By who?!” Bernadetta said, startled that anyone would say that aloud. “I-I’ve never been beaten before in my life, who told you that? Are there rumors about me?!”  
  
Ashe looked stunned. “No, uh…I mean, exhausted, I meant beat as in exhausted, not physically beaten.”  
  
Ashe was quiet after that, sensing the awkwardness and stopping his line of questioning.  
  
He soon unlocked the door with a key that was in his pocket and opened the door to a room much bigger than Bernadetta’s old room.  
  
“Here you are,” Ashe said. “Home sweet home.”  
  
The room was painted a stunning emerald green. There was a canopy bed that was much bigger than the twin bed she had at home, a vanity, a dresser, and a door that Bernadetta assumed led to a closet.  
  
Bernadetta looked around baffled, and she saw her suitcase already placed at the foot of the bed.  
  
“A-are you sure this is my room?” She asked Ashe, thinking to herself she didn’t deserve so much space.  
  
“Is it not to your liking?” Ashe asked, concerned. “I don’t think it would be a problem if you wanted to switch rooms, I can speak to Rodrigue for you if you’d like.”  
  
“N-no! That’s not what I meant, I just—Uh, no it’s fine, please don’t speak to Lord Fraldarius, I just thought that—well, uh…no I promise I like it!”  
  
Ashe looked a little baffled by her reaction and chuckled a bit, awkwardly. “Um, all right then, as long as you’re sure...” He said, placing the key to her room in her hand as he turned to leave. “If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”  
  
After the door shut gently behind him Bernadetta stared at her surroundings confused. Yes, the room lacked the comforts of home, such as her plants, and handmade stuffed animals and trinkets she’d knitted, but it was so spacious, and the door actually _locked._ She could easily lock unwanted visitors out of her room without hesitation!  
  
Bernadetta signed deeply, and let herself flop onto her new bed, and though her mind raced with thoughts and questions it wasn’t long before she passed out from sheer exhaustion. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I came up with this fic on a whim because I LOVE Felix/Bernie and I thought a slow burn arranged marriage kind of deal would be interesting.  
> Canon up to this point is pretty similar with a few changes. 
> 
> 1\. Bernadetta did not attend the officer's academy.  
> 2\. The war hasn't started yet, so the reveal that Edlegard is the Flame Emporer has not happened yet, therefore when Byleth went to the holy Tomb there was just no attack and Edlegard is taking her time.  
> 3\. After graduation Rodrigue took on Ashe as a squire (he took a liking to him when visiting the academy and sees potential in him as a knight) which is why Ashe is seen working at the estate. 
> 
> I think that's all that's important to know for right now! There's also the obvious that Bernadetta is betrothed to Felix but that's just a given with the premise of the story. Anyway! I'm very excited to write this and see how it goes, and to add as a warning even though it's in the tags, this fic will include mentions of Bernadetta's abusive relationship with her father and through flashbacks, conversations, etc. That's all for now! Let me know what you all think. :)


End file.
